Vancouver dentist wins Sony World Photography Award with battling bald eagles

George Ching-Yuen Lo picked up the prize for best Canadian photo at the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards by taking an oddly American one.

Ching-Yuen Lo, a Vancouver dentist, won the Canada National Award with a photo he took of two bald eagles fighting for a meal. His photo was chosen as the single best shot from a Canadian photographer entered in any one of the ten open categories at the competition.

“When I heard that I won first place in the Canada National Award, it was a complete surprise for me as there are so many great photographers in Canada and in the world that participated in this competition,” Ching-Yuen Lo said. 

Ching-Yuen Lo said he took the photo while on a cruise boat by the Harrison River in British Columbia. Dead salmon had washed up on shore and the opportunistic bald eagles ran into one another while trying to take advantage of an easy meal.

"A week before I took this image, the weather was raining heavily and flooded over 80 per cent of the sandbank, washing away the dead salmon," Ching-Yuen Lo said. "As a result, the eagles were hungry and suddenly they started fighting for food.”

He says his dentistry background actually helped him win the competition. Ching-Yuen Lo, who's been working as a dentist for more than 30 years, said he's required to take photos while on the job. About 25 years ago, he took night classes where he learned basic photography.

The result of that hard work is what you see above.

Sandra Fiedler earned second place with her photo of a curled up duck at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta, B.C.

Fiedler said in the description of her image that she had been entranced by the beauty of ducks.

"They are so common we often just walk by, but if you stop and look their feathers are incredibly beautiful," Fiedler said. "The sun when it hits them just right makes them shimmer."

Lise Simoneau rounded out the Canadian top three with her photo of two polar bears expressing their love while in captivity.

To see the rest of the competition's winning images, head to www.worldphoto.org.

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